“UFC ON FUEL TV” SPAWNS NEW STARS!

San Jose, CA- In another example of how the “bookies” get things wrong, Mark Munoz was a 3-1 favorite over Chris Weidman in the main event of the “UFC On Fuel TV” card that aired from the home of the National Hockey League’s San Jose Sharks last night. As it turns out, and as I had predicted here yesterday, Weidman won via TKO 2 with a flurry of punches on the ground that promoted the referee to call it off at 1:37 of the round. The taller Weidman, now 9-0, had never been “taken down” in his MMA career, albeit limited, still Munoz tried a few times to do so and failed miserably.

KEEP A WIDE EYE ON THIS WEIDMAN KID!

After measuring the distance between himself and the shorter Munoz, who the crowd went “ape” for with an extended left hand, Weidman then took Munoz (12-3) to the canvas and kept him there for most of the opening round. Having another 185 lb. fighter lay on you, out wrestle you while punching and kicking you, these things can break a fighter’s psyche. That seemed to be what happened as Munoz, who was ever so confident coming in, yet didn’t seem to have it as the second stanza started. Weidman wasted no time, took Munoz to the ground where he beat him up furiously fast. Is Chris Wideman now ready for UFC middleweight (185) king Anderson Silva, no, but he will be in a year from now. Very impressive outing for Weidman who fights out of Baldwin, NY.

MEXECUTIONER ALL BUT EXECUTED BY AUSSIE

Although this was the semi-main event, Joey Beltran of Carlsbad, CA, as I said yesterday, had no chance in a light heavyweight (205) scrap with James Te Huna of Penrith, Australia, as the Aussie beat on the Mexican-American fighter like a set of Mexican bongo drums. The punishment dealt out was so fierce that a statistic flashed on the UFC TV screen in the HP Pavilion that stated Te Huna (17-5) landed like 225 punches in the three-five minute rounds of the fight. Beltran walked by me upon leaving the arena and looked as if he had been beaten with a chain in a street fight. The scores were 30-27 twice and 30-26, meaning one judge scored one of the rounds 10-8, something you could have done in all three stanzas, that’s how dominant Te Huna was. I don’t think you’ll see Beltran fighting in the UFC again, as he’s just not of that elite MMA ilk. He falls to 14-8.

ULTIMATE FIGHTER FAVORITE HAD SUBMISSION OF THE NIGHT

TJ Dillashaw was one of the favorites to win the recent Ultimate Fighter TV series that concluded last month on FX Cable. The bantamweight (135) out of Sacramento, CA wasted no time in choking out a game but overmatched Vaughn Lee (12-8-1) of Birmingham, UK in the first round. TJ is now 7-1 and while I know Urijah Faber is his buddy, a title fight between the two, this if Faber (26-5) wins the interim championship July 21 on UFC 149 in Calgary, Canada vs. Renan Barao (30-1), this would sell out the Arco Arena in Sacramento, if they were to clash. Injured champ Dominick Cruz gets the first crack at the Faber-Barao winner upon his getting approval from the Dr.’s treating what has vaguely been described as a “thigh injury.”

POST FIGHT QUOTES FROM DILLASHAW

“I knew he was a tough grappler coming into this fight but I have even tougher grapplers at the gym. My wrestling was much stronger and I have better scrambling so I’m glad I was able to execute in those positions. I wanted to stay calm and relaxed when we scrambled and I thought about returning him to the mat when I got his back but he moved toward the fence. He was really good at hand fighting but there was one opportunity to seal in the choke and I was able to do it. Its super nice to fight two hours from my hometown and I’m glad I got the win but I definitely haven’t shown everything I have.”

What is most impressive about Weidman is that not only did he take Munoz down, but he was constantly going for submissions (and would have subed most people). He didn’t just lay and pray. Being able to hold a world class wrastler like Munoz down that whole time, all the while going for sub after sub, his grappling skills are excellent…
Plus that short elbow that set up the finish was awesome !